our energy industry expertise

Senn Delaney positively impacts the energy industry

Senn Delaney, a Heidrick & Struggles company, has decades of experience guiding the leaders of energy and utilities companies to create thriving organizational cultures. The industry became a major sector for our firm after historic work to successfully transform the culture of the Tennessee Valley Authority, to create a safety culture for the restart of Three Mile Island and to support the privatization of British Gas Transco in the UK.

Since those early days, we have partnered on enterprise culture-shaping engagements with energy and utilities leaders at many of the largest organizations around the world. Our unique and singular focus on culture has added value for our clients by inspiring and energizing the human element of the industry to better execute and sustain long-term transformational changes that will support the ever-expanding global demand for energy in all forms.

The positive results of our culture work in energy

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Our energy clients have engaged us to help them shape culture to improve results in several areas.  We have made a meaningful impact in several important areas. Among them:

• transforming cultures to enable new strategies, structures and implement new business models
• increasing collaboration across disciplines, systems, with new alliances and partnerships across shared services or effective service lines
• creating cultures focused on safety, accountability, flexibility and a customer-centric focus
  
• enabling major, system-wide initiatives
  

Watch video preview with Senn Delaney client Piedmont Natural Gas's CEO Thomas Skains on the benefits of creating the Piedmont Pride culture

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Read 'notes from nick' column by energy practice leader Nick Neuhausel

Common drivers of our work with energy and utility leaders

We are called on to partner with and guide CEOs and executive leaders to improve performance in a variety of business situations. The most common drivers of our work in the energy and utilities industry include:

Shift to a customer focus; improve customer satisfaction
In contrast to recent history, industry leaders forecast that energy companies of the future can expect a much more intense level of customer involvement. Senn Delaney has partnered with clients to help them create thriving, customer-centric cultures. Two have gone on to win multiple and consecutive J.D. Power awards for customer service.

Enhance employee engagement and talent development
As utility companies prepare for a wave of retirements and significant loss of human capital, they must groom rising leaders to take the reins. Senn Delaney's work to create a culture that empowers and engages employees at all levels has resulted in many companies becoming employers of choice, enabling them to attract the best and the brightest talent.

Implement major organization-wide systems or processes
Building the energy infrastructure of the future requires breaking through old habits mindsets that resist change. We have helped leaders create more collaborative organizations that more effectively execute transformational changes. Our work helps unfreeze thinking and align the company around new guiding behaviors that deliver results and promote innovation.

Integrate cultures in mergers and major acquisitions
The pace of mergers and acquisitions in the energy industry is expected to accelerate. Most mergers, regardless of industry, fail or never realize their full potential due to cultural clash. Our work to integrate cultures helps leaders avoid and pre-empt culture clash. We did this in two of the largest mega-mergers in recent history, WellPoint/Anthem and Verizon/Pacific Bell.

Our energy and utilities clients include:

• Atmos Energy
  
• Ameren
• Baltimore Gas & Electric
• British Gas
• Cameron International
  
• Commonwealth Edison
  
• DTE Energy
• Dominion Resources
  
• Edison International
• Florida Light & Power
• London Electric
  
• New York State Electric & Gas
• NRG Energy
• PG&E Enterprises, Inc
• Piedmont Natural Gas
• Tennessee Valley Authority
• United Utilities
  

Visit longer list of our energy services and utilities clients

What our energy and utilities clients say about working with us

Bob Best, Atmos Energy executive chairman and former CEO

John E. Bryson, Edison International former chairman, president and CEO

Energy client articles

View from the top: Interview with Bob Best, Atmos Energy executive chairman and former CEO:
AtmosSpirit culture helps company weather the storm

View from the top: Interview with John Bryson, Edison International former chairman, president and CEO:
Building a high-performance leadership team to fulfill the vision of Leading the Way in Electricity

Visit our SDTV thought leadership video channel for more videos that describe our work and impact

Contact us for more information

To learn more about how Senn Delaney can partner with you to guide your culture-shaping initiative, please contact:
Ed Manfre, Senn Delaney business development manager, energy practice

Nick Neuhausel, Senn Delaney partner and energy practice leader